NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sangeet Som on Tuesday claimed he was denied a visa to Australia because of riots cases pending against him.

According to a report published in The Indian Express, Sangeet Som in a public meeting claimed, “I love Muzaffarnagar very much. This is why I have become a known figure in the world to the extent that no country is willing to give me a visa.”

“I applied for a visa to visit Australia but was denied on the plea that cases are pending against me. I had applied for the visa… in 2015 but could not get through. After that I dropped the idea of going out of our country,” Som told The Indian Express.

The BJP legislator from Sardhana is accused of uploading a fake video on social media that reportedly played a role in provoking communal tension in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas that took place in 2013.

Som was later arrested in Meerut on September 21 for participating in a mahapanchayat and incited violence through their speeches and was booked under the National Security Act. Later he was acquitted of all charges.

The clashes between Hindus and Muslims in August and September 2013 had claimed 62 lives while over 40,000 people were displaced.